The Wife he threw Away (Claire and Lucian) novel Chapter 77

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CHAPTER SEVENTY-SEVEN LUCIAN’S POV

I remained standing exactly where she had left me.

The noise around the courthouse hadn’t stopped-it never did-but it had shifted.

The attention had followed her, like it always did. Cameras, voices, and movement pulled in her direction until there was nothing left around me but fragments of what had just happened.

Someone said my name a couple times.

I didn’t respond.

My gaze remained fixed on the space where the car had disappeared, long after it was gone.

She hadn’t looked back.

Not even once.

“Mr. Dhark.”

I finally turned slightly.

One of the attorneys approached me, careful, measured. “We should get ahead of the press cycle. The ruling is clean. Favorable. If we position it correctly-”

“It’s handled,” I said.

He paused, then nodded and stepped back back.

Another voice came then- this time it was my assistant. “The PR team is ready.” She informed. “They’re drafting a statement. We can control the narrative before-”

I didn’t let her finish. “Do what you need to do.”

My tone ended it.

J

She and the attorney dispersed quickly after that efficient and professional, exactly the way I had

trained them to be.

The outcome of the court proceedings had gone exactly as expected.

The prenup stood.

The settlement was minimal.

Legally-there was nothing to fix.

I had won- just like I wanted.

So why did it feel like I had just watched a part of me walk away from me?

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VENTY SEVEN GANS POV

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And irreversibly…

I exhaled slowly, using my hand to pull down the front of my suit before turning toward the car.

The drive to Dhark Holdings was quiet.

No calls. No interruptions, not even from my assistant.

For once, no one pushed for my attention.

I watched the city move the same way it always did-structured and predictable.

Nothing had changed.

Except everything had.

Claire’s voice possessed my thoughts without permission; clear and steady.

“You had me… and you still chose something else.” 1

My grip tightened slightly against the armrest, then I forced my gaze back to the road ahead.

This wasn’t new. None of it was new.

What was new… was the way she had said it.

Not as an accusation, but as a fact.

And then there was Nathaniel- standing beside her like he belonged there.

Not forcing his presence, not claiming anything.

Just… there.

I had thought, at first, that he was a variable I could manage.

Something temporary, only present in Claire’s life because of the circumstances.

I had been wrong.

He wasn’t the problem.

Claire choosing to walk away was. 1

I couldn’t stop thinking about how Claire had seemed to relax when he appeared, like his mere presence offered her comfort.

Eventually, the car pulled into the driveway of the mansion, and the gates closed behind me quietly.

Everything looked the same.

The silence hit immediately I stepped inside.

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SEVENTY SEVEN LUCIAN’S POV

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Not the usual kind-the structured quiet I preferred.

No, this was something else.

It felt like the absence of something that had always been there.

My gaze moved through the living room slowly.

Nothing was out of place.

Nothing looked disrupted.

And yet-

It felt different.

The house felt colder. Empty in a way I couldn’t immediately define.

But then again, Claire’s presence had never been loud or disruptive.

But it had always been… constant.

Now it wasn’t.

That, more than anything else, unsettled me.

“Lucian.”

Eva called, her shrill voice breaking through the silence.

I turned to see her standing near the entrance to the sitting area, composed and elegant as always, watching me carefully.

“It’s over now,” she said, as she approached me, her tone softer than usual. “You don’t have to deal with any of this anymore.”

I didn’t respond immediately.

She stopped right in front of me, reached for my hands, and let out a slow breath. “We can finally move

forward.”

Finally.

The word lingered.

As if everything before this had just been an obstacle.

As if this outcome was something we had been working toward. 1

“It was never about that,” I said.

A small frown formed on Eva’s face.

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SAIN LOAN SPOV

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“You know what I mean,” she said lightly, masking her displeasure.

Did l?

I studied her for a moment longer than necessary.

“You’ve been under a lot of stress,” I said.

Her brows drew together faintly. “What?”

“The situation. The attention.” I paused briefly. “You should be careful.”

It was a simple statement, but I watched her reaction closely.

There was slight hesitation- small and quick- but she smiled almost instantly.

“I’m fine,” she replied. “I’ve handled worse.”

She was a popular actress, so I didn’t doubt that.

But there was something about the way she said it…

Her gaze sharpened slightly. “Is something wrong?” Eva asked, concerned.

It took me a moment to realize that she wasn’t asking about the situation- she was asking about me.

“I thought this would feel different,” I said.

Silence followed.

Eva’s expression didn’t break, but something in it tightened.

“What does that mean?” she asked, her brows furrowing.

“It means it doesn’t feel like anything changed positivity.” I answered honestly.

Because that was the truth.

I watched as she absorbed it.

I watched her pupils shake the way they always did whenever she was processing something she didn’t like.

“Maybe you just need time,” she said after a moment, her tone regaining its smoothness. “It’s been… a lot.”

Maybe.

Or maybe time wasn’t the issue.

Eva held my gaze for another second, searching for something I wasn’t offering.

Then let go of my hands and stepped back.

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A KANN EVEN LUCIAN’S POV

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Not retreating, not defeated.

Just… recalculating.

“I have a call,” she suddenly said.

I nodded once, understanding that she wanted to excuse herself from the awkwardness.

She turned and walked away without another word.

I stood there for a moment longer, after the sound of her heels had faded down the hallway and the house had fallen quiet again.

Then I went upstairs.

My steps slowed as I reached the door at the end of the corridor.

I hadn’t been in this room in a long time.

Not since everything between us had fractured. Not since I had made her leave the West Wing as Eva had requested.

Now, standing here, the space felt different.

It felt empty.

Then I mustered the courage to push the door open.